Dystopian ass bullshit

This is not a new concept. That was a plot line in an episode of an obscure British dystopian-future tv series called "1990" starring Edward Woodward - made in the late 1970s. The general premise was that the public service bureaucracy had taken over and lives were lived according to a great deal of surveillance and oversight.

Prisoners had the "option" of misery pills to shorten their sentences. Designed to reduce the prison population by getting prisoners through their sentences faster.

Quite an interesting show IIRC - I haven't managed to find it while out sailing.